Trump’s net approval hits lowest point of second term in DDHQ average
President Trump’s net approval rating reached its lowest point yet of his second term in office in the Decision Desk HQ polling average.
Trump’s net approval rating reached 9.2 points underwater on Monday, the lowest it’s been since DDHQ started tracking his approval numbers during his second term. The average found that 53.4 percent of respondents disapproved of his job performance, the highest number recorded since he returned to the White House in January. His net approval slightly improved on Tuesday, but his approval rating fell to its second-lowest level of his term at 44 percent.
The declines are part of a broader rough week of polling for Trump, who has seen some weakening on multiple questions evaluating his standing with the public.
A drop in the percentage of independents who approve of his job performance could be one explanation for the change, as it dropped almost 3 points over the past week.
His net favorability rating also dropped by a larger margin of 2 points over the past week, with 52.6 percent viewing him unfavorably and 44.9 percent viewing him favorably as of Tuesday. The last time that his unfavorable percentage was at this level was early May.
Vice President Vance’s net unfavorability rating also rose, though he overall remains slightly more popular than Trump, only underwater by 6 points, compared to just under 5 points last week.
The percentage of people who say the country is on the wrong track has remained roughly static for weeks, but almost 54 percent believe it’s going in the wrong direction while 39 percent say it’s going in the right direction, according to the average. Slightly less than a majority said the country was on the wrong track briefly as recently as early last month.
The news could be a positive sign for Democrats, who have taken more of a lead in the generic congressional ballot, which could be an indicator for the parties’ performances in the midterms next year. Democrats lead 46.5 percent to 43.2 percent as of Sunday, a shift of more than 2 points in their favor over the past week.
Democrats have led in the average on this question throughout much of Trump’s term but by much smaller margins of less than 1 point typically. The midterms are still more than a year away, and much can change, but Democrats leading the generic ballot by at least a few points is a decent target for them to be positioned to win back a majority in the House.